William h



(No ModeL) W. H. HOWELL.

COTTON GHOPPER.

No. 397,804. Patent ed Feb. 12. 18-89..

awe Whoa m IZKH HUWEZZ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM H. HOlV ELL, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

COTTON-CHOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,804, dated February 12, 1889. Application filed Juneli, 1888. Serial No. 277.363. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM I-l. HOWELL, of New York, in the county and State of New York, and a citizen of the United States of America, have invented a new and useful Cotton-Chopper; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to the class of cottonchoppers by which the rows of cotton are chopped by revolving knives cutting across to so improve the construction of the cutting apparatus as to obviate the dilficulties here- 3 tofore experienced.

This invention consists of peculiarly-formed knives attached to adjustable arms, which arms are forked and revolve, as described,

across the row of plants, cutting out intervals, leaving bunches of plants from which the stand is made. The peculiar construction of this knife and its attachment and mode of operation will be hereinafter fully shown.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a cotton-chopper of the class above described, showing the frame, drivingwheels, gearing, the wheels carrying the chopping-blades, and the forked arms or heads to which they are attached. The invention is equally applicable to any cotton-chopper of this class. Fig. is a side view of a forked head and an. edge view of a knife. Fig. 3 is a top view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, further showing the construction.

In the figures, like reference-marks indicating corresponding parts in the several views, A is the frame, B the revolving axle, and 0 indicates the wheels attached to the said axle and 011 which the frame is carried.

The front end of the frame is supported on the caster-wheels D. The tongue E is pivoted to the frame. The shaft F is connected to the axle by means of the bevel-gear G on the axle and a pinion on the shaft F, the axle and shaft being journaled on the frame. On the shaft F is the hub H, having arms J, to the outer ends of which are adjustably attached the curved knives L. The curved knives L are connected to the shaft, as above described, and are set diagonally to the said shaft F, which is parallel to the line of movement of the machine and the rows of cotton to be chopped, and revolve across the row at nearly a right angle thereto, the deviation being caused by the forward movement of the machine while the knife is crossing the row, for which reason the velocity of the knife should be considerably greater than the forward movement of the machine. This action of the knife and the position in which it is placed are best shown in Fig. 3, in which the direction of the movement of the machine is indicated by the arrow M, the direction of the cross-motion of the knife with reference to the machine by the arrow N, and the movement of the knife with reference to the beds by the arrow 0. The forward edge of the knife has a bevel, Z, to cause it to cut the ground easily, and the ends have bevels Z and Z to prevent any disturbance of that part of the ground through which the knife does not pass. The knife is so curved as to keep all parts of the cutting-edge an equal distance from the center of revolution, and the outer surface has the form of a spiral sec-' tion of a cylinder, the axis of which is the axis of revolution, for the purpose of making the outer side of the'knife clear the ground and the knife to pass through without lifting the dirt that it cuts more than is necessary. The two ends are beveled laterally to about the angle of the movement of the knife to the cotton-rows.

The knife revolving in the direction shown by the arrow N, Fig. 3, and the machine traveling toward it at a properly-proportioned speed in the direction of the arrow M, will cause the knife to pass through the ground in the direction indicated by the arrow 0, which, on account of the knife being diagonal to the axis, gives a shearing cut across the row,

thus enabling the knife to cut the ground and any obstacle more easily than it could otherwise do. In case the knife meets any obstruction that it cannot pass through, thereby causing the wheels to slip, as is common with cotton-choppers of the class known as rotary choppers, the knife will pass out at the side of the row diagonally until it passes the obstruction, instead of going through the row and destroying the cotton in front of it, as is the ease with other forms of knives. llard ground will also often obstruct the knife in choppers of ordinary construction, which defeet is also obviated by my invention.

1 am aware that curved knives set diagonally have been usedin cotton-choppers, and,

therefore, do not broadly claim the same; but i I am not aware that knives haviu their ends 4, projecting beyond the arms of the cutterl head to form additional cutting-edges have heretofore been used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

In a cotton-chopper, the c mibination of the ret 'olving arm .l, the forked heads K, and the curved knife L, secured diagonally to said forked head and having its ends projecting beyond the arms of the forked head, and beveled, so as to form additional cutting-mines, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I hereunto allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. W. ll. TIO\\'E'I.II..

Witnesses:

A. P. \Voon, 13. F. Rici-Twoon. 

